With just one week remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox find themselves on the cusp of an ignominious achievement: finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history. They currently stand at 36-120, having already tied the infamous 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season. With six games left to play, the possibility of setting a new record looms large.
The team's offensive struggles have been glaringly obvious throughout the season. Collectively, they are slashing .220/.278/.339, numbers that fall significantly below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. Their team OPS+ of 76 indicates that they are performing 24% worse than the league average in terms of getting on base and hitting for power. A paltry total of 127 home runs places them dead last in the league, and not a single player has managed to reach the 20-home run mark.
The lack of offensive firepower is underscored by their 3.07 runs per game, the lowest in the league. For comparison, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th in this category, average 3.78 runs per game. This offensive ineptitude has contributed to a -320 run differential, as the White Sox have been outscored 799-479 over the course of the season.
Andrew Vaughn has been the team’s most productive player offensively, leading the team in both RBIs and runs with 67 and 54 respectively. However, Vaughn's contributions still leave much to be desired; he ranks 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS for the batting title.
The defensive side of the game has been equally dismal for the White Sox. They rank as the worst defensive team in the league, with a staggering -83 total zone runs. For context, the Miami Marlins, who are next to last in this metric, have -53 total zone runs. Leading the league, the Brewers and Mariners both boast 46 total zone runs.
From a pitching standpoint, not much has gone well either. Erick Fedde, the team’s leader in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), hasn’t pitched since July 27, further compounding their woes on the mound. As a team, the White Sox have a collective FanGraphs’ version of WAR at -6.8, making them the only team in the league to register a negative figure. The team closest to them, the Colorado Rockies, have a positive 4.1 WAR.
The White Sox's performance outside of their home field has been catastrophic. Their 16-62 road record is the worst in the league, with the Rockies having the next fewest road wins at 24. At home, they fare no better with a 20-58 record, again the worst in the league. For context, the Marlins have the next fewest home wins at 30-51. Before this season, the White Sox had never lost more than 55 road games or 53 home games in a single season.
The team has endured multiple lengthy slumps this season, including losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 straight games. They've also had additional losing streaks of seven, six, and two bouts of five games each, one of which is still active. Historically, prior to this season, the White Sox had experienced losing streaks of 12 games or more only three times, in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Post-All-Star break, the team’s performance has been nothing short of disastrous, posting a 9-49 record. No team has ever won fewer than 15 games in a full second half, a record held by the Athletics, who went 15-61 in both 1915 and 1943. The White Sox’s best months this season were May and June, each with a 9-19 record. Their worst month was July, where they went a dismal 3-22.
Surprisingly, the White Sox have managed to have winning records against a few teams: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). However, those bright spots are dimmed by their 12-41 record against the rest of the American League Central.
The 2024 season will be remembered as the lowest point in the storied history of the Chicago White Sox, a year where almost nothing went right and losses piled up at a historic rate.